QM-11

1. QM-11 Quartermaster Weather Instructors: George Crowl

2. Course Outline • a. Teach the Ordinary and Able weather requirements to a crew • b. Demonstrate your knowledge of the weather signs for your local area, including cloud types. Prepare a 48-hour forecast and compare your forecast with the actual weather that occurred.

3. QM-11a a. Teach the Ordinary and Able weather requirements to a crew.

4. Background • Teach each set of requirements separately • If you taught Ordinary weather when you were still an Ordinary, you may be able to count that. • You don't have to be Able to pass any part or all of this requirement • You don't have to do it over a short time, you can spread it out over months or years

5. Equipment Needed • A barometer, thermometer, anemometer, and weather vane are desired. All may be on the ship's vessel. Lacking that, look for other sources. • PowerPoints are available

6. Teaching EDGE • Lacks two things – objectives, motivation • You have to supply both • Objectives – simply put – the requirements • Motivation – why should a Sea Scout want to pass an advancement requirement? • YOU have to provide the motivation – how it will be used, it may be fun to do, whatever will persuade the Scout to do it • Give a pre-test? You may be able to sign them off as complete with part or all of it

7. Teaching EDGE (2) • Four main steps • Explain • Demonstrate • Guide • Enable

8. Explain • Need to read common weather instruments • Why do we want to read them? • Advantages of knowing what they say? • Disadvantages of not knowing? • Four different kinds

9. Demonstrate • Read the barometer. It may have more than one scale. • Insure you know how to read all the scales. • Point out that inches of mercury (“ / Hg) is the most common in the US. • Read the other three. • For the wind vane, fixed vanes on land read true direction, mast vanes on vessels read relative wind

10. Guide • Everyone read every instrument • Pose problems by using a grease pencil to mark possible readings • Go around and check proper readings for everyone

11. Enable • Have the Scouts read the weather instruments on the boat • They must read them properly • They should learn what a falling barometer means • When they have done so, you may pass them

12. When do You Pass the Scout? • Policies vary between ships • Author's opinion: if you have the instruments on your boat, Scouts need to read them properly on your boat. • Otherwise, it may be necessary to give informal tests with photos

13. QM-11b b. Demonstrate your knowledge of the weather signs for your local area, including cloud types. Prepare a 48-hour forecast and compare your forecast with the actual weather that occurred.

14. Weather Cycle • Weather goes through regular cycles • Typical would be: clear in high pressure area, becoming cloudy, warm front with rain / snow in a low pressure area, some clearing, cold front with possible thunder-storms, clearing, and back to clear in a high pressure area • Winds and fronts generally go from west to east

15. Cloud Types • L

16. Cirrus • Cirrus, cirro... = high (18-50,000 ft) • Thin, wispy strands of water vapor or ice • “Mare's Tails” • Appears in advance of fronts, deteriorating weather

17. Cirrostratus • High, very thin, uniform • Ice crystals • Often can see through it

18. Cirrostratus Halo • Halo can form around the moon, perhaps the sun • Ice crystals are refracting light (as in a rainbow)

19. Cirrocumulus • High, small rounded puffs, usually in long rows • “Mackerel sky”, often clear, cold weather

20. Altostratus • Alto = middle altitude (6-18,000 feet) • Stratus = level, layered stable air mass • Dark clouds (thick, water inside) • May signal approach of a warm front

21. Altocumulus • Cloud has more vertical development • Weakening warm front or between a warm and a cold front

22. Stratus • Stratus = low level cloud (below 6000 ft), flat bottom and top, may be layered, stable air • May have light drizzle or snow

23. Nimbostratus • Low to middle cloud • Nimbo = precipitation = rain, sleet, hail, snow • Covers a wide area

24. Stratocumulus • Low, lumpy layer of clouds, little convection • Might have light precipitation • Common in polar and horse latitudes (30-38°)

25. Cumulus • Low clouds, flat bottoms, rounded bumpy tops • Unstable air, can grow in height, become cumulonimbus

26. Cumulonimbus • Dense clouds, unstable air, with cold fronts • Thunderstorms = rain, hail, sleet, even snow • Tornados and water-spouts come out bottom • Lightning, high wind gusts • Dangerous, get off the water

27. Cloud Types Summary • L

28. Sailors' Aphorisms • “Red sky at night, sailors' delight, red sky in morning, sailors take warning” • “When a halo rings the moon or sun, rain's approaching on the run” • “When the sun draws water, storms will follow” • “Rainbow to windward, foul fall the day,rainbow to leeward, rain runs away” • Mackerel skies and mares' tails,make tall ship take in their sails”

29. 48-Hour Weather Forecast • Watch the weather for a day or two • Write down what you see – wind direction and speed, precipitation, clouds types during period • Apply personal knowledge of weather cycle • Use history, cloud types, barometer if available • Predict for 48 hours – clouds, rain, relative temperature, etc. • Do NOT use a published forecast, make an honest prediction

30. Recommended Format • Date, time of day (morning, afternoon, evening) • Types of clouds, cloud cover • Rain possibilities • Temperature trend

31. Record Your Observations • Match your observations with your predictions (use the same sheet of paper, column for observations) • Highlight similarities, differences • Do not expect perfection (professional meteorologists sometimes get it wrong!) • This is an exercise in thinking

32. Questions?